The internet is often described as not just a network but a network of networks. Over the last 10 years we have seen it change and evolve at an incredible rate. Alongside this a new internet culture has emerged and there is increasing melding of it with more mainstream culture.

The catalyst for this is, of course, (surprise, surprise!) social media! While online communities have existed for a long time on the internet, they had an almost silo-like existence with limited contact with other communities.

With social media those online communities or cultures are more easily able to communicate with each other crossing national, social, political and other boundaries. This is creating a new culture of cultures in which more cross-fertilisation of people and ideas occurs. Social media is also impacting the way news is reported and consumed. The online social media communities are all potential publishers and news gatherers. Interesting and engaging news can be shared within communities and across communities with ease in real-time.

Ideas and news are generated and evolve at a lightening quick pace. They are shared between individuals, communities and wider communities of communities. It is even possible now to observe social graphs of connnections for yet more insight. Of course there are some closed communities and countries that may not like this new openness (think about the trouble Google has had in China and the recent blocking of Facebook in Pakistan). However, they may find it increasingly difficult to maintain a 'walled-garden' approach in the future. When you get on to the global stage the shear number of people and connections are staggering. It is not possible for one government or other entity to completely control the internet for their own interests.

In my eyes, this new emerging global culture of cultures is the quite possibly the next stage in our evolution but it is currently still in an embryonic stage. As communities and cultures increase their interaction with each other maybe we might actually realise and more greatly appreciate that we all have one fundamental thing in common - we are all human..

Gone are the days when social networking was just sitting at a computer sending messages. As we move into a real-time environment online communities are soon becoming real-world communities.

This has been quite clearly brought home to me when attending a regular social media event in Bristol called Brrism. What interested me about the event is that it is all organised through social media and is all about social media. I have met some very interesting people there and had some great discussions. What I realised is that coming from an Online PR/Social Media work environment I had a certain way that I viewed and used social media both for myself and my clients. I soon realised that that my methods for using social media were not the only ones. Customisability means everyone uses social media to meet their own specific needs and hence they have completely different perceptions of it.

However, one common theme that keeps coming up is the concept of sharing ideas and community. It is interesting to see how Brrism has developed since its inception last year. There is still a long way to go and I often feel that we are like kids again trying to establish ourselves in a group. New community formation takes time and I know there will be more challenges along the way.

Social media has also been powerful tool for charities. Since the Haiti earthquake charities have successfully utilised social media in getting messages out and forming supportive online communities.

I have mentioned Twestival on this blog before in reference to this as it is an excellent example. Following a successful event last year there is an event on 25 March 2010. The Twestival event will be is global affair where events are to take place in big cities around the world. This year it will be in aid of Concern which is looking to rebuild the education infrastructure in Haiti.

The entire event is organised using social media (namely Twitter) and online communities. It has created real-world impact though these channels.

It is obvious to me that charities are an area where the community and sharing ethos of social media can really come into its element.


If you are in the Bristol area definitely check out Bristwestival which is Bristol's offering. It features live music, a raffle, goodie bags and other wonderful things all in aid of charity. It takes place on 25 March at the Tunnels and tickets cost £5. See below for more details and book tickets here.